Is yoga unconstitutional?

Apparently, the parents believe you can take yoga out of eastern religion but you can’t take the eastern religion out of yoga, or something like that.

From the San Gabriel Valley Tribune:

ENCINITAS – A group of parents is bent out of shape by free yoga classes at schools in this San Diego County beachside community, fearing they are indoctrinating youngsters in eastern religion.

“There’s a deep concern that the Encinitas Union School District is using taxpayer resources to promote Ashtanga yoga and Hinduism, a religion system of beliefs and practices,” the parents’ attorney, Dean Broyles, told the North County Times (http://bit.ly/RUMM4T ).

In an Oct. 12 email to district Superintendent Tim Baird, Broyles called the yoga program unconstitutional and said he may take unspecified legal action unless the classes stop.

The lessons are funded by a $533,000, three-year grant from the Jois Foundation, a nonprofit group that promotes Asthanga yoga. Some schools began classes last month and others will begin holding them in January.

The classes involve traditional eastern breathing techniques and poses. The district chooses teachers and sets the curriculum while the foundation trains the teachers.

The district, which serves students from kindergarten to sixth grade, has removed any religious content from the twice-weekly classes, Baird said.

“I think that they really would like to think that, but I don’t think that, in actuality, it has been done,” said Mary Eady, who removed her son from the classes. “There’s really a lot of unease among a lot of parents.”